I'll Leave When The Wind Blows
by PaintedinAllColors
Summary: Elena left Stefan, and he still loves her.


Me: Hey again! Instead of being a good author and updating other fics, I was listening to music and lazing around. This is the fruits of my non-labor, but I'm going to actually have to work if I want to own the Vampire Diares. Like that's going to happen. For this, I'd recommend listening to the song **The Wind Blows** by The All-American Rejects. If you want to. But enjoy, and leave me a review afterwards!

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><p>He simply looked at her retreating figure. There was nothing he could do; she left him. He took a deep breath; even though he didn't need to, he craved the comforts of being human. She just didn't understand how lucky she was to be alive; to have a beating heart; to be able to breathe. All he had wanted was to protect her, but she claimed he had become obsessed. She was impossible at times, but he knew she loved him. He let the memory of a few minutes ago wash over him.<p>

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_"Stefan," she said. "I need to breathe."_

_"What do you mean?" he was confused by that statement._

_"I mean that you're stifling me. You're overprotective, and you don't let me do anything on my own! I can take care of myself! I know that you care and you want to protect me, but this is ridiculous! I can't do anything. You're treating me like this fragile doll, and locking me away; and I don't want that!" she threw up her hands in frustration._

_"Elena, you're only a human! You don't understand the strength of vampires," he had told her._

_"If you had a choice, Stefan, what would you do?" her voice shook. "Would you respect me and let me deal with my problems on my own? Or would you rather lock me away to keep me safe?"_

_"Elena-," he started._

_"Answer me!" she cried, her eyes beginning to tear up._

_"I would keep you safe," he said, befuddled by her question._

_"Then I'm sorry," she turned away from him._

_"What?"_

_"Stefan, you need to realize that I am an independent person, and if you can't, then this isn't going to work out!" tears began running down her face. "I know you love me, and I know you want to protect me, but I need you to understand that I can take care of myself! I'm sorry, but I need you to leave me alone. We can't work this out if you won't let me do anything by myself. " She walked away from him, leaving him with a blur of emotions that he couldn't describe, and deep wounds caused by her words._

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He sat on the couch and buried his head in his hands. _She'll be back_, he told himself. But, deep down, he knew she wouldn't. She had hurt him so much; cut so deep with a few simple words, and she had showed him how Damon had felt over Katherine. But she had truly been sorry to leave him; Katherine had used them as entertainment. _No,_ part of him said stubbornly. _She loves me; she will come back. _

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Three months later….

She hadn't come. She didn't love him; she loved his brother. She hadn't come home to him, and it had been the hardest thing to see. But at least she apologized for the pain. And Damon had been unusually understanding of his situation. Stefan got off the bed and ran a hand through his unkempt hair and stood in front of the mirror, taking in his disheveled appearance.

"I need to get over her. She left me, threw us away, and passed her love to Damon, and…and I still love her," he realized. He quickly changed; he needed to talk to Elena. She may not be his girlfriend anymore, but she would help him understand. She would listen to him, and help him figure himself out.

Stefan stepped into the crisp autumn air and walked to Elena's house, enjoying nature for the first time in months. The wind stirred the golden leaves of trees on the deserted street with a lone figure walking down it. He knocked on the door, and it was opened by Elena.

"Stefan," she said quietly.

"Elena, I need to talk," he pleaded, stopping the door from closing. She smiled at him sadly.

"Come on in," she led him to the kitchen table and handed him a cup of hot chocolate. Stefan stared into the mug, trying to sort out his jumbled mess of thoughts.

"Elena, I still love you," he began. "I know why you left, and I can understand why you left me. I thought and thought about it, and I realized that I would have broken up with me, too."

"I'm sorry for leaving you, I really am sorry for causing you so much pain. I needed to find someone who would understand my independence," she apologized, looking into her own cup.

"It's fine. But I don't know how I'm supposed to fix myself. I'm a complete mess, and I don't know what to do. I love you, and only you, and I can't move on," he confessed, closing his eyes, not wanting to see her reaction. Instead of a slap too the cheek, he felt a warm pair of arms encircling him. He opened his eyes in shock.

"Stefan, you'll find someone else," she said. "I'm sorry, but I love Damon."

"Thanks Elena," he smiled sadly. "I can finally understand that we're through." She hugged him again, knowing that he needed the comfort. "And I'm sorry for being so controlling when we were together. Can you ever forgive me?"

"It's already forgiven, Stefan," she said, and he could see the truth behind that statement shining in her warm eyes.

"Thank you, Elena," he said, touched by her kindness. How could she forgive him so easily? "After you left, all I could see was the fact that you had chosen Damon over me, but I can see that you really do love him."

"It's okay, you know. You were too good for me. You deserve someone who could love you with every single fiber of their being, and I couldn't do that," she smiled at him warmly.

"No, I can't. Elena, you're the only one that I'll ever love," he hung his head, ashamed to be confessing his love to his brother's fiancée. She froze at that statement for a moment, but then relaxed.

"And that's what Damon thought after Katherine, but look at him now," she replied.

"Yes, but Katherine compelled him," he said. Noticing the uncomfortable look on her face, he stood up. "I should go." She guided him to the door.

"Thanks for stopping by, Stefan," she told him, leaning against the doorframe.

"It's no problem. Thank you for listening to me and not running at me with a stake," he said with a hint of his old smile. She returned it, glad that he was at least able to make jokes.

"Bye, Stefan," she said, closing the door.

"I'll leave when the wind blows," he whispered to the closed door, taking one last glance at the house before walking back. He slowed down in front of her window, and whispered one more time, "I'll leave when the wind blows."


End file.
